The Calcutta High Court has recently directed that the benefit of child care leave should be given to both male and female employees. The court said that the responsibility of taking care of the child is not only on the mother but this responsibility should be shared by both the mother and the father, so both are entitled to child care leave. The court has given this order on the petition of a person who has two minor children and his wife has passed away a few months ago. On this basis, the petitioner had demanded 730 days of child care leave.
Petitioner Abu Rehan had said in his petition that the children are of school-going age but there is no one to take care of them except him. Therefore, he wants to avail the benefit of child care leave for the care of his children and their physical, educational and emotional development. The petitioner is a government servant. He said in the petition that according to Government Memorandum No. 1100-F (P) dated 25 February 2016, the West Bengal government has approved 30 days of paternity-cum-child care leave to male employees but this period is not sufficient for him.
In his petition, the petitioner also cited Memorandum No. 5560-F(P) dated July 17, 2015, which states that regular women employees can be given the benefit of child care leave for a maximum of two years i.e. 730 days. Abu Rehan said that since he is a single parent, he should also be given the benefit of 730 days of child care leave. He also said that both the said memoranda are discriminatory and violate the rights to equality granted by the Constitution.
According to a report by Live Law, a single bench of Justice Amrita Sinha said, “It seems that the time has come when the government should treat its employees equally without making any discrimination between male and female employees. The responsibility of maintaining the family should be borne equally by both the mother and the father and not just the woman. Under the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act 1956, the natural guardian of a Hindu minor in the case of a boy or an unmarried girl is the father and then the mother. The government should decide to give the same benefits to male employees as has been done in the case of women… so that discrimination can be eliminated.”
Earlier, the state government’s lawyer said that the benefits given to women employees are not available to male employees. However, the court was also told that the petitioner’s application is still pending and will be considered as per the law. On this, Justice Sinha said that the court orders to take a decision on child care leave within 90 days without discriminating between men and women.
